INTRODUCTION
The history of Armenia is a history at once ancient, romantic, tragic and instructive. One of the peoples early mentioned in the Old Testament, the Armenians have maintained themselves for thousands of years, in a region close to the birthplace of mankind and associated historically with the greatest of the cataclysms which have afflicted the world, the Noahic Deluge. That God, in His providence, should have preserved them as a people through so many centuries and amidst such changeful circumstances of peace and war, joy and sorrow, suggests that the Nation has yet before it an important mission in connection with the destinies of Western Asia. The present great World Conflict has brought the Armenians through the persecutions and martyrdoms which they have endured from the cruel and heartless Turkish Government, very close to the hearts of Americans. They appeal to our people on the basis of race, for they are substantially Indo-Europeans; on the basis of faith, for they were the first of Christian Nations; and on the basis of Humanity, for their indescribable sufferings have evoked the sympathies of the world.
The author of the History of Armenia, as exhibited in this volume, the Reverend M. C. Gabrielian, M.D.,is a native of Armenia, was first trained in the American Mission at Marsovan, Asia Minor, came to the United States in 1881, and completed his theological studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J., in 1888. He then took up a course of study at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received in 1892 the degree of Doctor of Medicine. It gives me great pleasure to write this brief foreword to the History, congratulating the author upon the excellence of his work.
(Signed)William Henry Roberts.
Philadelphia, Pa.